Khalfan Abdullah Salim began his career with a conventional bank and helped to launch its Islamic offering before moving to his current position with Amana Bank. He holds a number of qualifications including a postgraduate diploma in Islamic Banking and Insurance, and is currently pursuing a masters in Islamic Finance, Banking and Management.
Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
I started my journey in Islamic banking when I decided to specialize in the field of banking and finance at the Islamic University in Uganda. After the completion of my studies in February 2008 and returned home, there was a conventional bank interested to launch Islamic banking products which was looking for a skilled workforce to spearhead the initiative. I applied and was tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that the Islamic banking products adhered to Shariah rules, as the Shariah compliance manager under the retail banking division.
In May 2011 I joined Amana Bank, the first fully-fledged Shariah compliant bank in the country, as a the head of product development and Shariah compliance.
What does your role involve?
My role is twofold. I am in charge of product development and Shariah management, which includes Shariah quality control (compliance) and Shariah advisory. On the product development side, I am in charge of pursuing innovative ideas, conducting market research and structuring suitable products. On the Shariah management side, apart from linking up the management with the Shariah Supervisory Board, I administer the Shariah rules for various transactions on a daily basis, find the gaps which may exist and lead to breach of Shariah rules and advise manageable Shariah compliant course of actions to fill those gaps.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
In an organizational environment nothing is achieved with the contribution of just one man. Therefore, I would say our greatest achievement to date is to have an Islamic bank with a wide range of financial products for our diverse array of customers driven by cutting-edge technology, which enabled us to launch our mobile and internet Banking services in less than a year since we started operations.
Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
As a commercial bank we have retail and corporate products — or financial solutions as we prefer to call them. On the deposit and asset side, corporate banking financial solutions are doing extremely well after we decided to establish our footprint in the corporate segment.
What are the strengths of your business?
Customer-centric financial solutions which are tailored to provide value to our customers, tied with unique Islamic rules and a code of conduct which we vigorously embrace. Furthermore, our workforce is committed and understands the local market very well which enables us to move faster and more efficiently.
What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
Support of relevant stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers and the regulator, when and as we require, is the key factor for what we have successfully achieved so far.
What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
I wouldn’t call them obstacles but rather there are key challenges. The list is long but one example is the fact that we must raise the level of awareness of Islamic banking in the country and reach out to the masses, including the poorer segments of society. We have plans to tackle this, however we cannot succeed alone and we may therefore explore ways to cooperate with other players – if need be even involving the regulator. Furthermore, there is a limit when it comes to income-generating avenues. For example, we cannot generate income on the money market because existing instruments are purely interest-based.
Where do you see the Islamic finance industry in the next five years?
I believe the industry will continue to grow, especially in emerging economies within sub-Saharan Africa. Regulatory support is expected to come into force in many African countries which will enable the industry grow faster.
Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance.
I think we are yet to play a substantial role in alleviating poverty. We must adopt microfinance and micro-Takaful in our strategic thinking. It is a high time that profitable institutions start to think of the poor and how Islamic financial products and services can benefit the them. I would like all of us to contemplate the words of Prophet Yusuf a.s when he was asked why he was fasting while all the wealth of Egypt was in his custodianship. He said: “I fear to keep my belly full lest I forget those experiencing hunger.”